It is known in the art to which this invention pertains to provide a suction accumulator between the evaporator and compressor of a refrigeration system in order to protect the compressor from possible damage. Vaporized refrigerant is received from the evaporator and passed on through the suction accumulator to the compressor. Any raw liquid is metered back to the compressor by the accumulator at a rate that will not result in damage to the compressor.
It is also known in the art that without provision of a suction accumulator in the environment just described, compressor failure can be anticipated. This condition is described in some detail in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,177, to which reference is now made as to the construction of the suction accumulator disclosed therein. While this version of a straight inner tube within a straight outer tube is an alternative approach, in some cases it constitutes an improvement over the conventional U-tube.
To explain, in the suction accumulator of U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,177, the cylindrical casing, end closures, inlet tube, outlet tube, and stand pipe are conventionally of steel composition. In the assembly thereof, the general practice is to connect all components, except the bottom or end cap, by arc welding or hydrogen brazing techniques. The partially assembled unit is then withdrawn from the process, and inspected to assure that the metering opening will function effectively during operation of the refrigeration system. Following the inspection, the assembly process can be completed by welding or brazing the end closure to the bottom of the unit. Quite clearly, among other disadvantages of this assembly process, the necessity of a further welding step or passage through the brazing furnace a second time represents a cost factor which clearly should be avoided.